working on the 2nd chapter

YAY!!

hang on!!

My computer and hard drive crashed and I've had to reformat....reinstall everything. I will be posting 2 new chapters on Monday! Thank you for hanging in there with me!!

In the beginning....

Katelyn couldn't believe she was lost. Lost in the middle of nowhere. Technically it isn't nowhere if you counted the critters and the 4 roundabouts within like 5 miles. Virginia...beautiful and historic...and the road engineers annoying!

Never mind that it was dark and the wind blowing hard enough that the rain was horizontal. Why did she promise Todd that she'd met him tonight? What could possibly be so important that he'd drag her out into the middle of nowhere. She may be a rookie journalist, willing to do late night interviews but this is ridiculous.

Todd wanted to meet at Mt Zion Church. She'd heard about the Mt Zion Church in history class. She couldn't remember it much so being a good reporter, she decided some research was needed. It was a used as a hospital for both the union and confederate soldiers. There was a lot of activity in the area, especially by the Confederate John Mosby and his Raiders. Mosby was a "bad-ass" for sure. She did wonder how much was truth and how much was legend. He was known as the Grey Ghost. That name just creeped her out.

Thankfully the Mt Zion Church Preservation page had lots of information about the church, the congregation, even the cemetery. The cemetery!! - sure hope that isn't what was so important. Something to do with the cemetery. She enjoyed looking at the pictures. The small flags stuck in the ground near the tombstones. Some stars and stripes....some rebel flags. The webpage did say that there were both Union and Confederate soldiers and slaves buried there. It would be an okay place to visit in the daylight. Even interesting enough to do more research about the role it played during the Civil War.

She still was annoyed at Todd. It's November. It gets dark like at 5pm so even though it's early...it can still be dark and creepy. Unfortunately, Todd wasn't someone that would flake out on her. Although part of her hoped that tonight would be the first time he'd forget that he wanted to meet.

Their relationship was complicated. He was the brother of her best friend, Leah. She known Leah since 3rd grade. She was as close to a sister that she ever had. Growing up with 4 brothers, it was nice to have a girlfriend to grow up with and share secrets with. Todd was a great guy but there was just something missing. Chemistry, fireworks, something. Reliable and steady is just that...reliable and steady. She sometimes wished there was a dark secret that she could dig up about him. Who is so squeaky clean? Everyone has a skeletons right? Not Todd.

Dropping her cell on the floor she swore. Honestly if she didn't start paying attention to the road, she'd end up in Ohio. Great, another roundabout! She should be close. Seemed like she'd been driving forever.

There it is...Mt Zion Church - Thank God!!!

Out of the corner of her eye a white object caught her attention. What is that? It didn't look like headlights. Maybe a flashlight.

Oh Crud..distracted she went through the roundabout instead of going to the left. Now she'd have to figure out how to get turned around. She looked in her rear-view mirror to see if she could see Todd's car. There was a dark car there but the headlights were off.

Off to the side there was a gravel turn-off that lead to a farmer's field. Guess finding a place to do a u-turn wasn't as hard as she'd thought. At least now that she was going back in the right direction, she could breathe a sigh of relief. Getting to Todd and to the church should be easy now.

There it is. There were some spotlights on, enough that she could see a car. Great! Todd's car was there! Ok Todd, let's hurry up and get this over with so she could get back home.

It was a little bumpy pulling into the drive. The gate wasn't closed. Seems silly to be worried about being there after hours, now that she was there. Todd's black BMW was there. In the dark she couldn't tell if he was in there or not. Tinted windows seem even darker in the dark! As she pulled up close to his car she pulled around to the passenger side, less chance of getting soaked. She quickly opened the door and grabbed the door handle - locked! Come on Todd, you brought me all the way out here. Where are you?

She quickly jumped back in her car and grabbed her cell. This place is creepy!! Especially in the dark and in the rain!

THUD..."what the he...." Sheesh just a branch.....

Her heart was racing and she had that jumpy feeling like a kangaroo on a trampoline. I'll just wait for Todd in the car. Maybe he had to go behind the building for something. There was something shiny....a glint of metal over near the tree. Maybe Todd dropped something. Grabbing her coat, she jumped out the car over to the tree. Her heart sank. Todd's keys. Why would he leave those here? She felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck. Something doesn't feel right.

What had she seen earlier when she missed the turn off? What is that noise? Sounds like flapping....she turned toward the church....the flash of light nearly blinded her. All she squeaked out was a Todd?? but then there was just silence in the howling wind and pouring rain.

And the title is......

Under the Cover of Darkness

The story will be a mix of history, romance and mystery...a fiction based on true stories!

I am jumping out into the unknown. Not totally unknown, anyone who knows me also knows that I love to write. So with great excitement and trepidation, I'm going to attempt to write a serial novel! Starting next Friday...I'll post a segment of the story right here @ http://mandys-serial.blogspot.com

On Monday I'll tell you the name of the story and the overview of what it will be about... :- Don't forget to follow the blog so you won't miss a single segment!